Japan’s core consumer prices fell 1.0% in December from a year earlier, the fastest drop in a decade, in a sign that deflationary pressures are intensifying in the economy as the coronavirus pandemic drags on. Friday’s weak data underscores the challenges policymakers face in preventing the spread of the virus without adding to strain on an economy already suffering from a renewed state of emergency rolled out this month. The drop in nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, compared with a median market forecast for a 1.1% drop and followed a 0.9% decline ... (full story)